Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 36: Become famous first before you fight

Soon, Gong Tianwu and his servant arrived at the core of Nanyi State: Yidu.

Surprisingly, this capital city was in a dead mood. Upon asking, we found out that a plague had struck here not long ago.

Although the plague had not yet reached the point where "ghosts were singing in every house", it had also caused a tragic scene in the capital city where people were in mourning everywhere and white cloth was out of stock.

Moreover, the disease is fair. It ignores the dignity of status and the amount of wealth. Even the high walls of the royal palace are not spared. Unfortunately, King Jianjiang died of the disease five days ago at the end of the plague.

By the way, King Jianjiang was only one and a half years old. He was the third son of the current King of Namui. Once he died, King Luxia of Namui was once again in the embarrassing situation of being childless.

Although Luxia was only 23 years old, he was really unlucky in terms of offspring. None of his sons survived more than two years. Every one he gave birth to died.

This undoubtedly made some people wonder, is it that the king is doomed to fail, or is there someone who does not want him to have an heir?
The powerful minister who has dominated the country for 30 years and the monarch who has begun to rule the country seem to be naturally in opposition and have an indelible contradiction. What's more, the bloody examples recorded in history books are all lessons from the past.

To be honest, Gong Tianwu was a little surprised after hearing the news, and couldn't help but whispered to Di Song:
"Uncle Song, if a noble like the King of Jianjiang was ill, he should have been able to get elixirs from the immortals, or even ask the immortals to help him personally. How could he die young?"

Di Song's expression suddenly changed, and then he looked around and whispered:
"There is actually a huge gap between immortals and mortals. Once an immortal enters the Dao, he is almost immune to all diseases, so there is almost no elixir that protects against epidemics. This epidemic is fierce and severe. Even if a middle-aged man is infected with the plague, he will suffer from vomiting and diarrhea. Once infected, he basically cannot survive for more than two days."

"It took only ten hours from the time King Jianjiang fell ill to the time he could no longer be saved. In such a short period of time, either the immortals we invited were not strong enough to walk on earth, or by the time the immortals who were able to save him arrived, it was too late."

After hearing this, Gong Tianwu murmured to himself:
"Then, the rift between Lord Yan and the royal family should have deepened again, right?"

Di Song choked and smiled bitterly:
"should be."

Gong Tianwu pondered for a while and said slowly:

"Uncle Di, from now on, we have to remain anonymous, especially you. Help me with two things and then leave."

Di Song was shocked and said:

"Master, what are you going to do?"

Gong Tianwu said thoughtfully:
"Everything is predetermined. Since I have become Master Li's disciple, I have the obligation to seek justice for him. The current situation in Yidu is such a fierce conflict between the power of the prime minister and the power of the king. As long as I plan properly, I may be able to escape unscathed."

After hearing this, Di Song felt that his brain was not enough and could only smile bitterly:
"Okay, Master, tell me what you want me to do."

Gong Tianwu said in a decisive tone:
"Become famous first! It's absolutely impossible for an unknown person to accomplish something big."

***
Five days later,

The largest restaurant in Yidu, Wanhe Building, is decorated with lights and is filled with joy.

The fourth floor of the restaurant had been booked directly. Today was the birthday of Hu Yi, the number one scholar in the Jiashen exam. This number one scholar had always been popular, so his colleagues in the yamen and candidates from the same exam were all invited, making the Wanhe Building packed with seats.

Just as the glasses were clinking and three rounds of drinks were over, faint music suddenly came from downstairs. It seemed to come from far away, so it was a little difficult to hear.

Hu Yi was whispering to someone at the time. He frowned when he heard the voice. He thought it was the street singer making noise downstairs. He was about to ask someone to drive him away when he suddenly heard an old man squinting his eyes, stroking his beard and praising:
"Wonderful! There is actually the sound of a spring flowing!"

Hu Yi stopped talking immediately. This old man was Gu Ting from the Hanlin Academy. He was indifferent to fame and fortune (low emotional intelligence/big troll/offended many people), so he had stayed in the Hanlin Academy for more than 30 years and had countless disciples.

It is best not to offend an old guy like this. It may be difficult to expect him to accomplish anything, but if he wants to ruin your plans, it is easy for him to do so.

However, as the top scholar, Hu Yi’s appreciation ability is still online. After listening to the music for a while, his eyes were also brightened. He felt that it actually made him feel like the breeze blowing through the pine forest and leisurely watching the Nanshan Mountain! !
Soon, the song ended.

All the people clapped their hands and sighed with joy, and Hu Yi immediately sent someone to invite this great man to come and have a chat.

The butler who was sent out soon reported back that he had asked the waiter and found out that they didn't know who was playing the music either. They only knew that this person would occasionally come to book the "Plum Blossom" box, and then play for his own amusement after having a meal. This guest was wearing a bamboo hat with a black veil on it and came in a carriage, so we could only know that he was a man. Usually, he would leave immediately after playing the music.

After hearing about this behavior, everyone immediately felt like they were looking up to him, and they felt like they were facing a great hermit.

Gradually, as time went by, the news that there was a master of Qudao in Wanhe Building spread, and his behavior pattern was also revealed by the waiter. This master called himself Suosongke, which means he usually came when there was a moon.

Of course, Wanhelou also made a lot of money from this, and would of course provide as much convenience as possible to this master.

For example, when Suosongke plays, a special venue will be arranged, and guests who are willing to listen closely can also visit quietly, which is called the Feast of the Ears.

This place is quiet and elegant, with winding water flowing and couplets on both sides:

The bright moon shines among the pines,
Qingquan Stone flows upstream.

This kind of atmosphere creates a feeling of being at a gathering of a few good friends, free and unrestrained, and able to do whatever they want, which is quite suitable for readers.

The most famous musician in Yidu, Zhao Wen, the Five-tone Master, also came to listen to the performance. He commented that there was still room for improvement in the playing technique, but the music was full of spirit and a sense of transcendence.

Of course, what others don’t know is that Zhao Wen’s comment this time = four hundred silver treasures, payable in cash immediately, no credit!
Di Song, who was doing PY trading, was so distressed by the huge expense that he gritted his teeth.

However, if other people knew the inside story, they would be extremely shocked. After all, the old guy Zhao Wen had done something like this before. He wrote a poem to praise the third princess of the Prince Consort's Mansion, but the price he asked for was two thousand silver treasures.

But for Zhao Wen, commenting on the three princesses was just an awkward boast and would greatly deplete his own prestige.

This time, when I comment on Gong Tianwu, I am just saying a few fair words. The difficulty is certainly incomparable to that of yesterday, and the rise of such a rising star is a high probability event. With this incident as a prelude, I can also establish a good relationship in advance.

What's even more exaggerated is that not long after Zhao Wen's comments, this mysterious master Suosongke actually drank three glasses of wine in a row after a piano concert one day, and then took advantage of the drunkenness to talk about the trivial piano skills of Luo Qinniang from Fuliufang.

This has really stirred up a hornet's nest!
You know, Luo Qiniang is not an ordinary person! She is one of the top ten courtesans in Yidu, and her zither skills are superb, known as the fifth best in the world.

More importantly, Luo Qinniang and Wang Xianzi of the Zhushan School are close friends, and their zither and flute playing is world-famous.

As a mortal, Luo Qinniang has such a powerful backer in the world of cultivation, so Luo Qinniang usually sells her art but not her body, and only those who catch her eye can have sex with her.

There were many people talking at the piano concert, and within half a day, the news of Suosongke's evaluation spread widely. Luo Qinnan was very indignant when she heard it. After all, she made a living from this, and Suosongke's words were completely a slap in her face!
If she didn't respond, it was easy to guess that the other courtesans would join forces to stir up trouble and come up with a lot of unfavorable remarks against her.

As the saying goes: Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing his parents, so Luo Qinnan took the initiative and sent a visiting card to Suosongke, inviting him to come and play the piano!
The act of competing in playing the qin is an elegant thing in itself, and Luo Qinniang is a popular figure in the Yicheng entertainment circle, while Suosongke is also a rising star who has emerged recently. Although his reputation is not that big, he has also become famous in the special group of "civil servants + scholars".

Therefore, this piano competition really attracted a lot of attention. Even Luo Qinniang's close friend, the Fairy Zhushan King, rushed over after hearing the news, which directly raised the level of this piano competition.

The two decided to compete in playing the piano in the river under the moon. On that day, the moon was full, the river was white, and the breeze was blowing gently. Luo Qinnan suddenly came up with a piece of Eighteen Beats of the Hujia, which immediately won applause from the whole room.

The straw raincoat and pine guest responded with a piece of plum blossom music, but the first half was very memorable, but the string broke accidentally at the end. After sitting beside the zither for a cup of tea, he gave a long sigh and admitted defeat.

After Luo Qinnan won, her fame soared and she was the most popular woman in Yidu for a while, but Suosongke did not suffer any loss.

Because the first half of Sanjuo Plum Blossom by Suosongke really showed a very high level, and the song really had the meaning of being elegant and transcendent as Wuyin Gong said, so everyone including Fairy Wang felt that he was really capable and had a broad mind, and that he was honored despite his defeat, and his reputation became even higher.

The most talked-about thing is that after everything was settled, the蓑松客 floated away on a boat, but when he left, he took out a musical instrument similar to a bowl, tapped it lightly with his fingers, and then played a short piece.

At this time, there were still a small number of onlookers who had not left. After hearing this short clip, they exploded on the spot.

Because this short piece is not actually a famous song, but the widely circulated "Flowers and Full Moon", but many people present claimed that when they heard this music, they smelled a faint floral fragrance in their noses! !
(End of this chapter)